For what seems like an eternity, Download Squad readers have reacted to news of security exploits targeting Adobe Reader with a common sentiment: why doesn’t Microsoft build its own secure PDF reader into Windows? Apparently the Windows 8 team agrees, and they’re working away at an application called Modern Reader which is exactly that. From the handful of screenshots Paul Thurrott has shared, it’s clear that Modern Reader has been built with Metro in mind. [...]

In news that will no doubt shake the very bedrock of your belief system, Apple has asked Toyota to remove its Scion theme and its advertising from ModMyi, a Cydia repository. The Scion theme has been available for weeks, but after it received a ton of press in the last couple of days, Apple finally lashed out. It’s not like we should be surprised, considering Apple has claimed in the past that jailbreaking is illegal [...]

We’ve all thought it, but never dared think it could be true: what if Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL actively monitor our instant messenger chats? What if mentions of ‘bomb’ and ‘underage’ are tracked and sent to law enforcement agencies? What if chat providers don’t agree with the things we say, or the links we share, and filter or censor the content of our transmitted messages? Well, it looks like our fears may actually have some [...]

This one’s for the sysadmins in the audience: Altaro, makers of our favorite “time machine for Windows” back solution, OopsBackup, have just announced a new product entering beta called Hyper-V Backup. It’s a backup solution for virtual machines running on Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualization solution. If that sentence just seemed like a bunch of buzzwords crammed together, Hyper-V backup is not for you. But, if you actually use Hyper-V and are hankering for a good backup [...]

I recently reviewed the Booster Mini Amplifier from Orb Audio, and I had ordered a pair of Mod 1 speakers so I could review the amp.  I was very surprised to also receive speakers and a subwoofer with the Booster amp, and I ended up with 2 extra pairs of Orb Audio Mod 1 speakers.  [...] Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/02/15/orb-audio-mini-t-amplifier-and-speakers-review/ Thalía Thandie Newton The Avatars of Second Life

If South Park‘s herky-jerky theme song isn’t quite weird enough for you, check out this new version by multi-instrumentalist Adam Ben Ezra. He used kazoos, Jew’s harp, string bass, clarinet and other noisemakers to create his buzzy version of the twisted show opener, which was originally recorded by Primus. The video, directed by Guy Dayan, [...] Source: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/02/south-park-theme-adam-ben-ezra/ Lisa Marie Lisa Snowdon Liz Phair

Thanks to a new 3-D map of the moon, earthbound viewers can see its landscape with a clarity that only Apollo’s astronauts have previously enjoyed. Source: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/3d-moon-map/ Rhona Mitra Rihanna Robin Tunney

The crew in Oslo keeps plugging away at Opera 11.10, and the latest snapshot build includes a number of improvements to Opera’s built-in email client — as well as HTML5-related additions. On the IMAP front, Opera now supports special folders like sent items, spam, and trash. It also better handles duplicate items in Gmail — such as those which appear in all mail and under your custom labels. Opera 11.10 now partially supports the HTML5 [...]

The Associated Press is suing a paid news subscription company, alleging Tuesday the repackaging of the wire service’s news content is based on a “parasitic business model.” The suit blasts the Meltwater Group of San Francisco, saying the 10-year-old company’s subscription service charges a fee for “content created at the expense and through the labor of others.” Source: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/02/ap-meltwater-lawsuit/ Rebecca Mader Rebecca Romijn Reese Witherspoon

The developer of iCab Mobile, a feature-rich alternative to the Safari Web browser on iPad and iPhone, has been ordered by Apple to remove its ability to download and install JavaScript modules. Presumably it’s not the fact that iCab can execute JavaScript that’s causing Apple to apoplectically puff and splutter, but rather its ability to download modules. Both Apple and Google frown upon apps that contain market-like functionality, and someone at Apple probably thought that [...]